Inside J.Crew's Puglia Takeover with Masseria San Domenico

You never need a reason to head to the South of Italy in the summer, but J.Crew has a damn good one. This week, the beloved American brand debuted a new partnership and collaboration with Masseria San Domenico, a stunning boutique hotel in Puglia, complete with a full line of merch and a week-long takeover of the hotel’s beach club. So when the team invited me to come along for a quick jaunt to the sea, the answer was an immediate sì.

After a quick layover in Rome and a drive down from Bari, I arrived at the property on Monday afternoon, immediately captivated by the lush property, that sits amongst olive groves and is set just across from the Adriatic Sea (a masseria, by definition, is a type of fortified farmhouse or agricultural estate found in southern Italy, particularly in Puglia). Checking into my room, I was captivated once again, this time by the offering of items from the collaboration laid out and ready to wear. Designed as an “elevated souvenir capsule,” the pieces range from an embroidered eyelet button-down and short set to accessories like straw totes and printed scarves (a soon-to-be MVP styling piece of the trip). Unwilling to let jetlag get the best of me, I threw on my brand new logo cap and headed to catch a quick dip before meeting up with the rest of the J.Crew crew (Gabriella! Camille! Orion! — truly the best of the best) for dinner al fresco.

In addition to the capsule collection, J. Crew transformed the hotel's beach club into J.Crew A Mare, a one-of-a-kind brand experience bringing the best of J.Crew summer to the Italian coast, so the next morning, we headed straight to the sea — and transformed may be something of an understatement. Upon arrival, it was clear that this was no ordinary beach club and nothing had gone untouched — ashtrays, lifesavers, playing cards, even lemons had been J.Crew-ified, making for an extremely aesthetic — and elevated — beach day (that is, when you could actually pry us out of the water, perfectly crisp and salty).

Here, a closer look at the capsule and J.Crew’s Masseria takeover.

Pieces available online from the collaboration, even if you can’t make it to Italy yourself.

A fan favorite styling piece from the collab, as seen here on Laura!

Scenes from a perfect day by the sea.

Kareem and Gab taking it in.

Me in my J.Crew and our stunning home for the week. Take me back!!